


Where do we go from here

by trilliastra



Category: Jurassic Park - All Media Types, Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, PTSD, Post-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 21:38:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4153926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trilliastra/pseuds/trilliastra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's scared. No, more than that – she's terrified.</p>
<p>It's only been three years since – since that happened, she still wakes up in the middle of the night screaming and work is something she isn't ready to talk about yet, so this shouldn't be happening. Not like this, not right now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where do we go from here

She's scared. No, more than that – she's  _terrified_ .

It's only been three years since – since  _that_ happened, she still wakes up in the middle of the night screaming and work is something she isn't ready to talk about yet, so this shouldn't be happening. Not like this, not right now.

-

She tells her therapist first.

God knows she needs some reassurance that it's not wrong to be happy, that even though she's afraid, she can be excited too. And Claire knows Karen wouldn't understand, she wasn't there – she doesn't feel responsible for all the deaths. Claire was, Claire  _does,_ Claire wants to forget but at the same time she needs to remember.

“ It's okay.” Julia Wilson – the best damn therapist Masrani Corporation's money could pay – says, over and over while Claire sobs in her hands. “What are you really afraid of Claire?”

“ That I won't be good enough.” She says, remembers saying those same words to her mother the night before she went to college. She was nineteen, scared and going to live alone for the first time in her life, she wanted to be more than people saw, wanted to be the  _best._ And for twelve years she was: the best damn student Harvard ever seen, the best operations manager Jurassic World had.

And then everything was taken from her.

It's hard to start again, especially when she has no idea how to be anything but perfect.

“ But are you willing to try?” Julia asks. Claire blinks confusedly at her, tears still streaming down her face. “Will you try to be good for them? Or are you just going to give up now?”

“ I never gave up on anything in my life.”

Julia smiles at her answer. “I thought so.”

–

Sometimes, like tonight, she will watch Owen sleeping on the couch and remember their first date. She blamed him for that awful night, couldn't even admit to herself that she was at fault too, that  _maybe_ she shouldn't have assumed he just wanted to take a pretty girl out and have sex with her afterwards – but in her experience, that was all men wanted.

She sabotaged their date, she can admit it now, and perhaps if she hadn't they wouldn't have lost time bickering and/or avoiding each other. But somehow that doesn't matter anymore, they share a home now, a life,  _nightmares_ .

Their relationship is the best thing Claire's ever had and she wishes she was brave enough to tell him that more often. He deserves to know.

“ You know,” Owen mumbles, startling Claire from her thoughts, “you called me a creep once. And look who's acting like a creep  _now_ .” She laughs softly, takes his hand when he offers it but instead of sitting beside him on the couch, she stays up. When he arches an eyebrow she takes a deep breath.

“ Come on,” she says, “I need to show you something.” Owen follows her silently, but his eyes shine with mischief when she leads him towards the bathroom. “There.” She points to the sink, takes a step back and waits for him to finally realize what she's trying to say (or show).

It takes a minute – probably one of the longest minutes of her life – but then he's turning to her wide-eyed and gaping, she gives him the smallest nod of her head, a silent confirmation, before he's taking her in his arms and lifting her off the floor.

“ You – how, when?” His laugh is infectious and soon enough she finds herself laughing too.

“ I found out this morning.” She answers. “I'm sorry –” He pulls back immediately, expression going from happy to angry in seconds.

“ Why the fuck are you apologizing?”

“ It's –” She starts, fumbling with the words. He has a way of making her nervous, his green eyes piercing her soul and seeing right through the mask she so carefully wears. “it's a little soon, don't you think?”

“ Who the hell cares?” He arches an eyebrow.

“ It's not that simple.” She argues still, voice small as she takes another breath and tries not to break. When a tear finally streams down her face, she realizes it's too late. “I still wake up screaming most nights, sometimes I can't eat or get up. I don't even have a  _job_ . How am I supposed to do this?”

“ Not  _I"_  he corrects, pulling her against his chest and burying his face in her hair. He loves to do it and she maybe not so secretly loves the feeling too. “ _we._ I'm not leaving you, not now, not ever. I love you, Claire. You're the smartest person I know and still you manage to forget that one simple thing. I love you.”

Later that night, as she watches him sleep, she thinks she can finally let herself start to heal.

–

She starts sending her resume to local companies the next day and a week after that she has a new job, a new car and a baby bump that makes Karen burst out crying when she sees it and Gray go on a researching spree on pregnancy and babies and car seats.

Owen brings a dog home two weeks later, tells her it will be nice to have some training before the real baby arrives. She lets the dog stay but when Owen tries to adopt two cats and a parrot she throws her new Jimmy Choo at him and only lets him back in the house once he cleaned the cat poop on the front porch.

The pregnancy doesn't automatically heal them, if there's such thing as  _healing_ , but they get better, Owen stops throwing up when he sees blood and Claire can actually look at her sister without wanting to cry, but the fear and the regret don't actually  _leave_ , just get – muted. She likes it this way, it gets easier to breathe and enjoy the little things.

Like Owen trying to put a crib together.  She came home to Zach, Gray and Owen all screaming at each other, the crib half built and half  _destroyed_ and she doesn't regret for one moment taking a picture of the three of them yelling and texting it to Karen and Owen's mom. She ended up building the crib by herself one afternoon while Owen was at work, and got rewarded by her efforts with ice cream and a foot massage.

She could really get used to this life.

–

Their daughter is born on a Sunday afternoon and they name her Violet.

The first time Claire holds her, it feels like coming home, like having the baby in her arms was the only thing missing in her life. And it probably was, she realizes when it's Owen's turn to hold their baby, all open smiles and gentle hands.

It feels like a lifetime ago they were running for their lives, and even though Claire knows she will never be able to forget that day, it doesn't matter anymore.

She's safe, the boys are home,  _Owen_ is alive, Violet is sleeping. Life goes on.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I love future fics and couples having babies and Jurassic World. ;)
> 
> Here, I have a [tumblr](http://www.brookesbutler.tumblr.com)


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